Bring On The New Year!

I really don’t get into New Year’s resolutions.  If I call it that, it is almost like giving myself permission to do what most often happens with resolutions – QUIT.  However, it seems to be a great time to look back on the past year and to look forward to the new one.  I like fresh starts!  The last day of 2009 was awesome.  We were down in Texas spending time with my wife’s parents, who live next to Lake Brownwood.

On New Year’s Eve, I got up early and spent some great time with God.  In addition to Bible study and praying, I spent some time thinking back on all He had taught me throughout the year and all that had taken place.  I also spent some time praying and reflecting on how I want / need to grow in 2010.  Among these are to read through the Bible again (and not with the goal of getting through the Bible, but getting the Bible through me) and to memorize a verse per week, beginning with Psalm 91, which I have adopted as my theme passage for the year.  I will share one more of my goals for this year with you, and won’t bore you with the rest.  My mentor has the goal each year of making it the best year in his marriage, from his wife’s perspective.  I have adopted this goal for the year, as well.  I want my wife to be able to say that this is the best year of our marriage.  If I can say it, and she can’t, that means I have been selfish.  God has been teaching me that selfishness has no place in marriage (or anywhere else, for that matter), and this will be a great exercise in selflessness.

Later in the morning on New Year’s Eve, my oldest daughter wanted to get out and drive the golf cart, so she drove the other three kids and I down to the Lake.  We spent a good 30 minutes or so skipping rocks across the channel.  We were having a blast.  One of the girls brought me a piece of a clam shell that was sort of pearl colored and shiny, and it was in the shape of a heart.  Just the day before, as I was finishing up my study of Malachi, I had read the verses in Chapter 4 where it says that the prophet Elijah will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.  I kept the piece of shell as a reminder.  As God always does when He wants to drive a point home with me, He re-enforced this teaching by leading me to study the book of Luke next.  This morning, I read Chapter 1, verse 17:  “And he (John the Baptist) will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”  I got chills when I read this verse.  God is reminding me to not neglect my own children as I minister to others, and I believe it is a confirmation in what I am doing to try to encourage other men in their fathering.  It also encourages me to take advantage of the opportunities God is giving me to help others grow spiritually.  I love when God does this!

After our rock-skipping adventure, my wife and I left the kids with her parents and went on a date.  We saw the movie, “The Blind Side,” and I highly recommend it.  It is based on a true story of how a family took in a fatherless child and made a huge difference in his life.  Those of you who know me know why I like this movie so much.  I have such a heart for those children whose Dad can’t or won’t be a part of their lives.  Anyway, we went for a late lunch after the movie.  We had a great visit over a Schlotsky’s sandwich and soup.  This was one of our favorite places to eat early on in our relationship, and it brought back great memories.  After that, we went shopping and then went back to rescue the grandparents.  Later that evening, the kids opened gifts from my wife’s siblings.  You probably heard the scream clear up here in Kansas when they opened up their Wii.   Anyway, it was a great way to end the year.  We got the Wii hooked up last night, and some of us are a little sore today (yes, even I played… LOL).

I am so excited about what God has in store for 2010.  I want to apply Psalm 91:1 (typing from memory since this is my memory verse for the week): “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

May God bless you as you seek Him in 2010!

Goodbye Sweet Lady

In my totally unbiased opinion, one of the sweetest ladies who ever walked the face of this earth went to be with the Lord and her beloved Henry yesterday, and I can only imagine the celebration that went on and is still going on!  My dear Aunt Sudie was one of the most precious people God ever put on this earth.  My cousin said it well when he told his mom how beautiful it was that we only have good memories of her.  In fact, the family came together a few years ago for her 90th birthday and made a poster called, “The 90 Things We Love About Aunt Sudie,” and we found it hard to limit it to 90!

I really did try to think of something negative about her today, just to see if I could.  After all, she’s not Jesus!  There had to be something wrong with her.  She couldn’t have been perfect because none of us are.  Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that love covers a multitude of sins, and my Aunt Sudie loved like no other.  In that way, she was a lot like Jesus.  So, here’s my conclusion:  I’m sure there had to be something negative about her, but she loved us so much that I just can’t find it.  In fact, I couldn’t even think of any little annoying traits about her!

She had the sweetest laugh, the most contagious smile, and the best sense of humor of anyone I know.  She LOVED her family and it showed.  She cherished her time with her nieces and nephews (including greats and great greats), as they never had children of their own.  She helped raise my mom and her siblings after their mom passed away when they were all young.  She always welcomed us into her home and was always sad to see us go.  She called everyone, “Hon.”  In fact, I can still hear her say, “Well, Hon, bless your little heart,” when one of the children would be hurt or upset.  She also had a hard time hearing, so she would say, “Hon, come sit by me.”  She was a good listener, and was really interested in what we were saying.  On a side note… I can never eat Total cereal without cutting up a banana over the top and I can never eat this combo without thinking of her.  She would always have Total and bananas when we would come to visit.  I could go on and on as the memories are flooding in.

When we saw her for the last time several months ago, her face lit up like a Christmas tree.  She knew she was supposed to know us, but couldn’t quite put it all together.  Our kids sang a few songs for her and the rest of the residents of the home.  Aunt Sudie was anxious to get us to her room so she could have the kids all to herself and not have to share.  She loved on them and they on her.  It was beautiful.  We ended our time with her in prayer.  That’s a memory we’ll all cherish from now on.

I really do sense the need to add a little bit of humor that came out of that last time together.  While we were there, she (again her mind wasn’t completely with her, anymore) told one of my girls that her husband was now the king of heaven and his new wife was the queen.  She seemed very disgusted by this.  Well, yesterday, my wife told my sister this story and added that as of roughly 4:30 yesterday afternoon, the old queen had been dethroned because the new one had arrived!  Believe me, in her day, Aunt Sudie would have laughed at that one, too.

<Disclaimer – this does not reflect theology or doctrine – it is merely being repeated to be FUNNY. >

The death of those close to us is a great time for reflection, and this all really makes me think.  How will I be remembered?  Will I be remembered as a man who loved God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength?  Will I be remembered as a man of honor who loved his family deeply and let them know they are loved?  Will I be remembered as a man who always had time for others and showed Christ’s love, even when it was difficult?  Will I be remembered for the way I love rather than for my faults?  Will I find the best in everyone?  Well, I have had it modeled.  Now, that I may live it out!

Thanks for listening.  I express myself best in writing, and needed to do this.

By the way, I just learned that the word “goodbye” started out in 1565-75 as a contraction for “God be with ye.”

May God be with ye as ye learn to love deeply!

Spiritual Retreat

It is a beautiful day.  The rain has cleared and the sun is shining.  It was a perfect day for my spiritual retreat.  I rode my bike down the Jim Martinez Sunflower Trail.  I have a couple of favorite spots by the Arkansas River where I stop to spend time with God.  I had some great time of seeking God and listening.

Awhile back, during another spiritual retreat day, I asked God what His vision for my life was.  I believe that answer is becoming more and more clear as I have been spending time seeking Him and listening.  As I have been reading through the book of Nehemiah, I sense an urging to become a repairer of the breach that has taken place in families.  This includes leading men to be better spiritual leaders, husbands and fathers, helping people to grow spiritually and teaching them how to pursue God (after all, His Holy Spirit is our “in-house” Counselor!), helping strengthen marriages and families, and by standing in the gap for single parent families.  I’m not so arrogant as to think I’m perfect and can do all of this myself or in my own strength.  In fact, the whole thought of it kind of overwhelms me.  However, I am available for however God wants to use me.

I believe that all of the ministries that I’m responsible for can be aligned under this key vision of building the wall and repairing the breaches that are happening in families.  God is teaching me a lot about leadership, which will be crucial as I lead teams in making this happen.  He is also leading me toward getting more training in couseling.  My heart is wide open to His wisdom and leading.  Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.

May God bless your family!

Thirty-seven

Something hit me on May 2 when I turned 37.  It’s not usually a number that one would focus on.  It’s not one of the so-called “milestone” years.  However, something deep inside me says that 37  is going to be a significant year.  God has already been teaching me a great deal.  He has reminded me in gentle but firm ways that I need to be pursuing intimacy with Him first and foremost.  I have missed very few early morning hours with God over the past several years.  However, my journaling while spending time with God has dwindled to a few times a week.  Without my journal right there with me, my mind tends to wander, I tend to forget things that I really need to be praying about, and I don’t listen nearly as well.  In addition, I don’t have a way of going back to review what God has been teaching me.  When I use the journaling method that Dean Trune taught me, I am able to stay focused and my time with God is much richer and more meaningful.  Now, please don’t get me wrong.  I know I can pursue God and spend time with him any time of the day, no matter where I am, and whether I journal or not.  However, in order for me to really be focused and listening, I need to spend early morning, uninterrupted time with Him, and have my journal right there with me.  So far, I have journaled all 20 days of my 37th year, and I’m excited about what God is doing in my heart.

It is also helping that I’m going to bed earlier, so I can get up closer to 5:00 and have some time of exercise, too.  I feel so much more energetic when I have my time with God and some good exercise.  This morning, after my quiet time, I spent 15 minutes on the treadmill while watching a John Maxwell leadership video.  I have to do something while treadmilling or I can’t hardly stand it.   Today is the last day of school, so I can get part of my exercise by riding my bike to the office at least a few times a week.  So far, with the exception of the day I found water coming into our basement, I have stayed on course with my exercise plan since turning 37.  That’s huge for me.

Another thing that will make this a significant year is the fact that God is really teaching me some leadership skills right now.  Much of it is coming straight from the book of Nehemiah.  I’m planning to focus on a chapter of Nehemiah each day for the next thirteen days.  I’ll try to share what God is teaching me.  Today, I’ll talk about Chapter 1.

I am so impressed with what an incredible leader Nehemiah was!  I don’t know why I haven’t focused on him before.  He learns of a need that burdens his heart to the point of weeping.  Instead of going out on his own power to find a solution, he spends three or four months in prayer and fasting to God.  Take note:  prayer was his first action, not his last resort.  Oh, what power we would see as leaders if we would learn this.  His recorded prayer is so meaningful and powerful, complete with worship, confession (his sins and those of Israel), and petition, and it came straight from his heart.  One of my favorite parts is where he says “O Lord, let your ears be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name.”  What would it look like for us to come together in prayer because we delight in revering God’s name?  Wow!

Another thing that has been brought to my attention is the fact that Nehemiah was very close to the king.  In fact, according to Dr. Howard Hendricks, a Bible professor specializing in Christian leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary, the cupbearer was second-in-command, kind of like the Prime Minister.  He was the only one who had direct access to the king and his own expense account.  In other words, he was living the good life in the palace.  In the world’s eyes, it would have been so easy to ignore the need in Jerusalem in order to continue living in comfort, but servant-leaders don’t do that.  Servant leaders seek God and put the needs of others before their own.

When I read and study the Bible, I always ask the question:  What is God teaching me through this?  How can this be applied in my life?  Well, I, too, have had a burden placed on my heart by God.  It’s not a physical wall that is broken down, but can be compared to that.  It’s the state of marriage and family.  I think the state of many marriages and families are much like the state of Jerusalem:  “in great trouble and disgrace because the walls are broken down and the gates have been burned with fire.”  Success rises and falls on the leadership, and that includes leadership in the family.  I believe that we, as men, are supposed to be spiritual leaders in the home.  We are supposed to be the gatekeepers, providing protection and security by staying close to God.  This includes praying for our families and fighting the spiritual battles through prayer and God’s Word.  I’m not saying that women can’t do this because they can and are usually very capable, but it should be done in addition to what their husbands are doing.  Too often, women find themselves as the spiritual leader because their husbands don’t step up.  I really believe it’s because they aren’t equipped.  Often, without the spiritual leadership of the husband, marriages fall apart, and families find themselves in a place of insecurity because the protective walls are broken down. 

As most of you know, I have a heart for ministry to single parent families.   I have a real burden for helping rebuild the walls, and standing in the gap that has been left most often by the father.  At the same time, I have a heart for counseling families and helping men become better leaders in their homes.  In these ways, maybe we can repair the walls before they disintegrate.  I want to continue to develop my skills in these areas.  My animal science degrees did not prepare me for this, although my mentor in college taught me skills that went far beyond the degree.  Through Nehemiah’s example, I plan to take time this summer in prayer and fasting for God to give me a vision for how best to do this.  I’m afraid I have tried for too long to do this in my own power and without the proper leadership skills being developed.  I’m finally on track. 

This will also be a good preparation for my first overseas mission trip to Thailand to minister to Karen refugees, including a village of mostly single moms and widows.  Yep, 37 is going to be a significant year in the Lord!

For you single moms who read my blog, remember:  Even though the walls may be knocked down, and  you may feel discouraged at times, take courage in Psalm 68:5 – “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.”  The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is your protector and shield.

May God bless you as you spend time seeking Him and His vision for you!

Blizzard

Well, the blizzard hit and we got at least 16 inches of snow.  It’s hard to measure because the way the wind was blowing it varies from place to place.  We had some drifts at our house 2-3 feet deep.  It was one of the most beautiful snows I’ve ever seen.  It just kept snowing and snowing.  Everything basically shut down for the weekend.  I don’t know about everyone else, but it was a great change of pace for our family.  We were basically snowed in and couldn’t go anywhere, and loved every minute of it.

I will have to say that we have some of the greatest neighbors in the world.  We were all out helping each other on Saturday.  While I was helping the neighbor across the street clear his sidewalk, one of the other neighbors came along with his snowblower and cleared half of our driveway.  It was great to see neighbor helping neighbor.  Of course, after that I could get to the end of the driveway, but couldn’t go on the street because it was too deep.  Later two of the neighbors in 4 wheel drives drove up and down the street to pack down the snow.  By today it was really melting well.

So, after helping the neighbors, we built a snow ramp going down the steps to our deck and the kids took turns going down on their sleds.  We had a run with a jump at the bottom, and the kids had some serious hang time a couple of times.  It was fun to have them laughing and coming back for more.

We had to cancel church this morning because the parking lot wasn’t clear.  So…  I got the idea this morning before everyone else got up that we would have “pajama church.”  Our oldest daughter looked up Scriptures that I gave her, our next oldest was the worship leader, our youngest daughter was the prayer leader, our son played the drums (plastic Folgers container with a John Deere hammer for a drum stick), the harmonica, the xylophone, and danced around, and I preached the “sermon.”  I’ll have to say that it was a bit more charasmatic than we normally experience.  My wife was in charge of the fellowship meal afterward (fantastic baked oatmeal).

In the afternoon, we got out and cleared some more snow for one of the neighbors, removed the rest of the snow from the driveway and some from a flat part of our roof, and then it was time to play again…  We made some improvements on our sledding slope, and the kids were really flying off the ramp today.  A few of the neighbor kids came to join in the fun.  I wish we could find the cord to our camera so I could post some pictures here.

This weekend was a complete surprise and a total gift from God.  And although I’ve never shoveled that much snow in all my life (and I’ll be sore for a week), it was still a good break from the crazy schedule that we often have and just what our family needed.  We laughed a whole bunch together this weekend.  All of the kids really got along well for the most part and we just flat had fun.  I think we’re all looking forward to getting back to normal, but will remember this weekend for a long time to come.

May God bless you with great family time!

Stay the Course

I had a very interesting experience as a substitute teacher last Friday.  I took the assignment of going to the juvenile detention facility.  Contrary to what you might think, it was one of the easiest days I’ve had yet as a substitute.  I was there along with two other teachers, and we had twelve students.  In addition, there were three guards with us to make sure nothing happened.  With it being a Friday, the students wanted to be on their best behavior so they would have weekend privileges.  In many ways, it was much easier than being in the regular classroom.

I couldn’t help but wander about their stories.  Why were they there?  What was their home-life like?  Do they have dads in their lives who care?  How can I help?  My heart was breaking for them. 

One of the guys told me that between 5 and 10% of the youth who came there listed the father as “unknown.”  He also told me that well over half of them came from single parent families.  I’m guessing that 90% or more of them don’t have a good relationship with their dads, no matter if they are from a single parent or two parent home.  I felt like I was witnessing another consequence of fatherlessness in a very up-close way.  I really believe that most of them would turn things around if they had a good mentor, a father figure… at least someone in their life who cared.

Now, let’s spin the globe to the other side.  This morning, four of us met to talk about the trip to Thailand in October.  I learned more information about the village of Tee Po Kwah.  This is the village I spoke of awhile back that consists mostly of single parent families and widows.  I had assumed that the men were dying at the hands of the Burmese army, couldn’t get out of Burma to be with their families, or were trying to find work somewhere.  Unfortunately, much to my dismay, I learned that a great many of them had abandoned their families to find new wives and had succumbed to many of the same temptations that the men of America have.  It is a grim reminder that fatherlessness is a universal problem.  

I feel like God has placed me here for such a time as this.  I want to be used by God to stand in the gap and help hurting families, and to be on the frontlines of the battle against fatherlessness.  I often marvel at how He has brought me from a career as a meat scientist to being a minister and has giving me my heart’s desire of showing Christ’s love to people.  I have the greatest job on earth, as far as I’m concerned.  I get to carry out my life mission of ministering to single parent families locally, and it looks like I will get the chance to do this in Thailand in October, as well.  At the same time, I have opportunities to help strengthen marriages and minister to men, so maybe there will be fewer single parent families.  Not to mention, I have been given the privilege of leading and helping lead other ministries, such as the Small Group, Outreach and Shepherding ministries.  I pretty much get to minister to people of all ages at one time or another in the church and in the community.

If that wasn’t great enough, God has allowed me a unique way to minister to my own children, as well.  I get to teach chapel two days a week at the school where my daughters attend.  I can walk downstairs three days a week and have lunch with them, and I even get to substitute teach in their classes from time to time.  I know each of their teachers and see them daily when school is in session.  While we often have a busy schedule, I’m still home more than I was when I worked in the meat industry, and I’m at least home most evenings to help put them to bed.  This is so important to me because if I don’t father my own children and take care of my family well, everything else will be for nothing.   

Now, I say all this only to add this:  I’m thrilled where God has me, but I don’t want to just settle here.  I want to continue to grow.  I want to get more education in counseling so I can minister to people more effectively.  I need more ammunition for the battle, and I’m seeking God’s wisdom and guidance in how to do this.

Yesterday morning, in my time with God, this phrase came to my mind, “Moving from rhetoric to reality requires resolve.”  I don’t think I’ve ever heard this phrase before, but it sounds too complex to actually have come from me, so I’ll just give credit to God.  We need to get past fancy and glittery words and move toward actions.  It’s easy to say we will do something, but it takes resolve to make it happen.  We must be purposeful and intentional, and remember it won’t happen overnight.  Of course, it won’t happen at all, if we don’t come up with a game-plan and stick with it.  Just like with my Ten Key Moves.  If I write them down and don’t act on them, they will go down as more useless rhetoric.  Rhetoric doesn’t change lives and make a difference, action does.  With so much to do, I often get distracted from staying the course.  It seems like good things keep popping up that I allow to keep me from the best things.  That’s why it’s so important to put God first and listen to Him constantly.  When the children of Israel listened to God and obeyed, amazing things happened.  When they didn’t, disaster occurred.  I don’t know about you, but I want God’s best, not what I think is the best.  Let’s stay the course…

May God give us all the resolve to stick with the gameplan He has given us!

Happy Birthday, Little Buddy

My little buddy is 3 today.  I lived in a pink world for a long time with the three girls, but now we have a lot of green in our world.  No, not blue…GREEN.  Yep… JOHN DEERE GREEN to be specific.  He has a John Deere tractor DVD that he wants to watch constantly, and it’s not even animated.  His favorite book right now is one about Corey Combine, Peter Pickup, and Johnny Tractor.  He knows it nearly word for word.  How many three year olds use words like cultivating and harvesting???  From what I’ve heard, he will be getting several John Deere gifts today from various people.  We also have friends who have offered to give him rides for his birthday on their actual John Deere tractors.  Ironically, the sign at the Fairgrounds says, “Welcome John Deere.”  My wife thought this must be a gift from God for his birthday, but called only to find out that it was a group coming in for classes on using a planter.  Bummer, we were hoping for some kind of farm show or something.  I know…we’re probably taking this way too far for a three year old.

Well, I have to tell a funny that he did yesterday before closing out.  My wife gave him some medicine and he asked if it was for his cough.  She said, “No, it’s to make your ears feel better.”  She turned around to get his cough medicine ready, and turned back around to find medicine running out of his ear, down his face and onto the floor…  I guess he thought that if the medicine was for his ear, he better put it there.  We got a good laugh out of that one.

He has changed our world in so many ways, and I thank God for blessing us with him.

God Bless you and Happy Birthday, little buddy!

Outreach

As God continues to teach me about discipleship, I’m becoming more and more aware that while Jesus did teach in the synagogue, He also taught on hillsides, in houses, in boats, and along the road.  He went into communities and put his teachings into action as He showed love to the people through His amazing deeds.  He rebuked those who were all about rules and traditions made by men, but who showed no love toward God or people.  Yet, he handled the common sinner with love and grace.  As I study how to be a disciple, my prayer is that I will be more and more like Jesus everyday.  I want to reflect Jesus’ love in everything I do, and yesterday God orchestrated a day to really help me understand this.

In the morning, I spent some time at a local nursing home.  I led a few songs and gave a devotional.  I’m not so sure they were blessed by my song leading.  I can sing okay, but I’m horrible at leading songs.  In fact, it sounded a lot like a train wreck…  Afterward, I spent some time going around talking to the people.  It was a blessing to be there.  These are people who have gone before us, and who have wonderful stories to tell if we’ll take the time to stop and listen.  They also have a lot of great wisdom to pass along.

In the afternoon, I went to a local elementary school and read to the Kindergarten and Second Grade classes.  I usually read to the First Graders, too, but it didn’t work out yesterday.  This is a standing appointment on the first Tuesday of each month, and is a highlight of the month for me.  It is so rewarding because they give lots of hugs and are always excited to see me.  I’ve come to realize that I’m building a relationship with them and that this goes far beyond being a guy who just comes and reads, often using funny voices.  I’ve had one little girl tell me that I was like a father to her and a little boy tell me that he was my number 1 fan.  Last time I read, a little girl shared that her mom and dad don’t like each other anymore and she sure misses her daddy.  Last week, I saw a couple of the children while I was serving at the soup kitchen.  It is very cool when I see one of them out in the community.  They always run up to me to say, “hi” and often give me a hug.  I started a few years ago with the Kindergarten class.  I have built a good friendship with the teacher.  She knows she is on my prayer list, and sometimes she sends me prayer requests.  When that first class of Kindergartners moved up, I then began to read to the Kindergarten and First Grade classes.  Well, when they moved up, I began to read to all three classes…  In a few years, I guess I’ll be reading to all grades.

Yesterday evening, several of us helped serve meals at our local Christian Soup Kitchen.  I had the priviledge of giving the devotional there, too.  It seems that God is giving me lots of opportunities to teach.  Yesterday, one of the guys felt comfortable to ask a really good question, so we had some good interaction.  It was such a blessing to serve families with spiritual and physical nourishment.

To top it off, I had some really good time with my family last night, each individually.  It was a rare occasion that I was the first one home.  There were a lot of activities going on, so the times they all got home were staggered.  That made it to where I had a little one-on-one time with each one.  We had some good talks as they shared about their day.  The two oldest had participated in an art class and wanted to show me what they did and tell me all about it.  My son and youngest daughter had spent some time at a friend’s farm and then at a basketball game.  My son came in talking 1000 wpm telling me all about it.  He didn’t even calm down while we read his John Deere tractor book…  That boy is so much into John Deere tractors that I think he’s turning green.  I was finally getting him down as my wife came in from volleyball and grocery shopping, so hopefully it was a low stress night for her.  At least the kids were in bed and the dishwasher was mostly loaded.

I don’t share all these things to say, “Hey, look at what all I did.”  In fact, I don’t feel like I do enough most of the time.  I say this to show you how God gave me an opportunity to put into practice what He has been teaching me in my time with Him.  I spent time with people of all ages yesterday, and no matter where they are in their lives, they all need Jesus.  They all need to be loved. 

I’ll leave you with John 15:8-12 – “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.  Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.  This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” 

May we spread the love of Jesus, so proving to be His disciples!

Road Trip

My two middle daughters and I hit the road last Thursday night for a quick road trip to Texas.  It is a 6 1/2 hour trip, and they traveled really well.  The question that always kills me, though, is “what town is this?”  That’s all fine and good except that we’re out in the dead middle of nowhere.  So, I say, “Do you see any buildings or lights?”  “No.”  “Okay, we’re not in a town, we’re in the country.”  “Oh, what country are we in?…”  All I could do was laugh and say, “We’re still in the good ol’ USA,” and then went on to explain the difference between the country and the city.  How can I call myself a redneck when my kids don’t know the basics, such as the difference between the country and the city?  Not to mention, they don’t much care for biscuits and gravy…

We got to spend some great time with my mom and were able to see my grandpa, too.  Grandpa is in the VA rehab center trying to regain his strength.  It is so tough seeing my hero so weak and devastated by Alzheimers.  I fed him part of his lunch, which was humbling.  The gentleman on the other side of me said, “How do they expect us to chew this meat if we can’t even cut it.”  I offered to cut it for him.  He refused at first, but after struggling for a time, took me up on my offer.  I found out real quick that there was a reason he couldn’t cut it… they might consider having bandsaws available the next time they offer those steaks…  After lunch, my girls and my nephew were visiting with and giving hugs to some of the other veterans out in the hallway.   There is just something about little children that warms the hearts of those around them.  In some very small way, I felt like we were serving our veterans that day, and it felt good.

While we were gone, I was also able to see my wife’s parents and grandmother for a short time, and we had a good visit.  While with them, I got to have a little time with a family member whose husband performed our wedding almost 15 1/2 years before to the day.  He passed away in December.  I was able to sit and visit with her just the two of us, which was special.  Hopefully I was able to encourage her.  I know I was encouraged just talking to her.  She gave me the opportunity to go through his books and take whatever I could use.  She also gave me one of his Bibles.  That was a real blessing.

I had a great talk with my sister and with my neice while on our trip, too.  I haven’t taken the opportunity to do this for a long time.  I pray that I was of encouragement to them, as well.  God has really given me a desire to teach, counsel, and disciple.  Most of the time, I feel so inadequate.  I think that’s a good thing, because it makes me realize how completely dependent upon God that I am.  I must daily seek Him and ask for wisdom. 

I don’t think I could have asked for a better trip.  The weather was beautiful and the conversations were rich and meaningful.  I feel like we really made the best of the time we had with family.

On another note and speaking of “road trips,” I now feel comfortable sharing something with my readers.  Since Mom is one of my readers, I wasn’t about to mention this until I had told her in person…  I believe God is calling me to go on a short term mission trip to Thailand.  I’ve been encouraged to go before, but haven’t sensed a calling until now. 

A dear brother in Christ travels there at least twice a year.  When he came back from his last trip, he reported on a village of 25-27 families that are mostly widows and single mothers.  In fact, he said that he only saw three men in the whole village.  They are refugees from Burma (Myanmar), and are living in extreme poverty.  When I heard about this village, I immediately felt the need to do something.  Now it looks like, Lord willing, I will get to go there with some others to minister to them for about three weeks beginning mid-October.  I am really excited about this opportunity. 

I would like to begin assembling a prayer team, because I think that is the most important thing we can do.  I will try to keep regular updates here on my blog as to how things are coming along and what the prayer needs are.  Please let me know if you would like to partner with us in prayer.  I’m so excited about what God is going to do!!

May God richly bless you with good family time today!

Ten Key Moves – Spiritual Leadership

I have had a lot of hits the past several days on my Ten Key Moves posts.  Being familiar with the Men’s Fraternity schedule, this doesn’t surprise me.  I am thankful for this because it has encouraged me to get out my list and take some time to review and reflect.  By the way, you can read all of the key moves I’ve written about under the category on my home page “10 Key Moves.”  Thanks for reading.

In reviewing my list, I see that I left out something very critical.  It’s something I’ve been working on, but is not on my list.  It has to do with my spiritual leadership at home, and I’m adding it now to be stated like this, “I will continue to grow so I will be a strong spiritual leader in my home.  I will lead family devotion and prayer times.  I will pray with my wife and children individually on a regular basis.  I will take every opportunity to teach and to lead by example, including finding opportunities for us to serve together.  I will encourage my family to pursue God individually, utilizing the spiritual disciplines that He has given us.”

In order for this to happen, I must be passionately pursuing God.  I cannot lead my family or anyone else spiritually if I am not growing.  In addition, I have to make it happen by setting aside a regular time and place where we will come together for family devotions and prayer.  Otherwise, it will be too easy to let other things take priority.

In my sermon this past Sunday I spoke about the need to be a disciple in order to make disciples.  An older couple in our church told me afterward that their 40 year old son told them that he remembers seeing his dad reading the Bible at the kitchen table and said it made such an impact on him.  That made me stop and think.  My time with God is usually spent in the early morning hours down in our basement before my family is even awake…

Okay.  With all this said, I would like to share something that I learned while preparing for my sermon.  I’ll give you the shortened version.  Have you ever heard the term “the apple of the eye?”  Usually, it is an endearing term used for someone we care about a lot, especially one of our children.   It can be found in the Bible in about four places, depending on what version you look at:  Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalm 17:8, Proverbs 7:2, and Zechariah 2:8.  Interestingly enough, it can also be translated “the pupil of the eye.”  It comes from the Hebrew phrase iyshown ayin, which means “little man of the eye.”  Have you ever looked into the pupil of someone’s eye.  You will see a small image of yourself.  In English the word pupil comes from the Latin word pupilla, or doll, which is derived from pupus or pupa (boy or girl, respectively).  Therefore, we use the term pupil to mean a student (small version of the teacher) or the black part of the eye where we see a reflection of our own image. 

I learned this as I was studying what it meant to be a disciple.  One of the definitions given for disciple is pupil.  As the word pupil means “little man of the eye” in Hebrew, we need to become little versions of our teacher (little men of our teacher’s eye).  That is what it means to become a disciple.  We should be so close to our Teacher that, in a spiritual sense, we can see our reflection in His eyes.  In addition, He should see Himself reflected in our lives.  In Jesus’ time, a disciple was one who was trying to become like his Rabbi in every sense.  He would not only be trying to gain knowledge, but would try to do everything the Rabbi did.  As disciples of Jesus, we need to learn to be like Him in every sense.  We need to have the knowledge, but we also need to live like He lived, doing the things He did.  When we do this, then we are equipped to make disciples, and it begins in our homes.

May God bless you as you seek to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ and lead others to do the same!